Heart of Gold
by heatherkw
Summary: "I was blinded by your beauty." He pulled back, so he could give her a wink. "I'm going to need your contact information for insurance purposes." Betty let out a good laugh, setting down the glass on the counter as to not spill any more. "Wow, does that line actually work on girls here?" / Beggie, One-shot / RiverdaleHoliday2017


A/N: written for Riverdale Holiday Exchange 2017, as an extra "treat" for buggiekinsx on tumblr. Also, I researched cheesy pick up lines for Reggie, because he's adorable. Actual classes and professors from personal experience (ugh).

Prompt: Betty and Reggie (beggie) + Christmas.

* * *

Veronica's celebratory post-finals party was in full swing. Betty was sipping the fruity cocktail that Kevin made for the occasion. She mingled a bit, saying hi to the few acquittances that she made in her first semester at NYU, but ultimately circled back to Kevin and Ethel.

Ethel smiled brightly, noticing her before Kevin had. "Betttyyyyyy! You're back," she slurred.

Betty inserted herself right in between Kevin and Ethel, running a comforting hand down her friend's arm. "You alright?" She asked.

She nodded rather forcefully and slung her arm around Betty's waist. "I missed yoooouuuu," she said affectionately.

Betty turned her attention to Kevin. "You were supposed to keep an eye on her." The annoyance in her tone was unmistakable.

Kevin simply shrugged. "She needs to let loose, and I am keeping an eye on her. Besides, she deserves it after this semester. I could say the same for you," he said with a pointed look.

Betty did not need the reminder. She and Ethel took a course to satisfy one of those pesky general education requirements with the professor from hell. They thought Russian Fairytales would be a piece of cake. In reality, they had more required readings than most of the rest of her classes _combined_ , with pop quizzes nearly every week. It was _supposed_ to be their easy class for the semester. But, at the very least, their non-western requirement for graduation was done and over with.

Ethel leaned into her and Betty rubbed her hand up and down Ethel's arm. "Hey, I'm going to get you some water. Okay?"

Ethel just hummed in response, slightly swaying in her efforts to stay upright.

"You'll keep an eye on her, won't you?" She directed at Kevin. At this rate, Ethel would have a killer hangover tomorrow, and hydrating was key to minimizing it.

"Scout's honor."

"You were never an eagle scout," Betty huffed. She gently extracted herself from Ethel and made a bee line for the kitchen.

She quickly surveyed the fridge, not finding any water bottles. Either their friends drank all of them, or the more likely scenario was that Veronica forgot to put more in the fridge. She grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with ice and water. She turned, intent on going back to Ethel, when someone's broad shoulder nearly body checked her. She ended up spilling a little bit on her too tight and too short dress (Veronica's doing). "Hey! Watch where you're going- Mantle?"

Reggie was briefly starstruck by the breathtaking beauty in front of him. He had always thought she was beautiful, but seeing her tonight was on a whole other level.

"Cooper, hey," he said casually. He took the few precious seconds of her swiping the water off her dress to really appreciate her. The deep V dress did wonders to accentuate her _assets_ , and the form fitting burgundy dress hugged her curves in all the right places. Combined with her hair down in waves and a smoky eye, he was impressed that he even got two words out.

He hadn't even seen her since graduation - nearly six months prior. He wasn't exactly in her circle in high school, so they didn't keep in touch. Much to his chagrin.

Sure, they were going to the same university, but he hadn't had the fortune of bumping into her - literally - until that night. It was only pure luck that Veronica noticed him in the quad the other day and extended an invite to her Christmas themed party before break.

Betty brushed off what she could and finally looked up to meet his gaze. The apologetic look on his face made hers soften slightly. "Just try to watch your step next time, okay?"

He placed his hand over his heart. "I'm sorry, Betty," he said sincerely. Reggie stepped a bit more into her personal space, enough so he could lean down and whisper in her ear. "I was blinded by your beauty." He pulled back, so he could give her a wink. "I'm going to need your contact information for insurance purposes."

Betty let out a good laugh, setting down the glass on the counter as to not spill any more. "Wow, does that line _actually_ work on girls here?" She gently wiped the wetness pooling at her lash line from laughing so hard.

"You'd be surprised," he said with a smirk.

"Then I have less faith in my gender than I previously thought." She shook her head slightly, not the least bit surprised. Reggie was always a charmer.

"How have you been, Betty?"

She smiled softly. "I've been good, Reggie. I'm so glad the semester is over though."

"I hear you on that one. Dr. Alas was a tough grader for my Western Civilization class. I worked my ass off and got an A-."

"You had Dr. Alas too? Which section?" Surely, she would have noticed if they were in the same class, wouldn't she? Although the class size was over a hundred people.

"I was in his 9am class. Remind me not to take a class that early." He missed a few classes due to hitting his snooze too many times.

"Ahh, the 9am section conflicted with my Creative Writing class. I was in his afternoon section." Betty was thankful she scheduled classes with a two-hour break for lunch, as she recently discovered her love affair for naps during lunch. And it better prepared her for her afternoon classes, so it was a win-win.

"Small world, Cooper. Small world," he muttered.

She ran her hand down his arm, squeezing his hand briefly before dropping it. "I need to get back to Ethel. Maybe I'll see you later?"

He stepped back and ran his hand across the back of his neck. "Yeah, of course. See you around."

She picked up the glass with the same hand that grabbed Reggie's hand. The cool touch did nothing to calm the warmth his skin left behind.

* * *

About an hour later, the party had died down a little bit. Betty took advantage of not being needed at that very moment and she made herself another drink and collapsed on the sofa. Her dress moved on its own accord up her thighs just a touch more than she was comfortable with, but didn't have the energy to care.

She just had to wait a little longer until it was socially acceptable to go to bed at her own party, and lock herself in her room to get some sleep.

"You're not falling asleep, are you?" The familiar voice had Betty picking her head up from the back of the couch and opening her eyes, not even realizing she had closed them.

"No, just resting my eyes… So, we meet again, Reggie," she said.

"Do you mind if I sit?" He pointed at the free spot next to her.

"Course not." She turned slightly so she could prop her head up on the back of her hand, crossing her legs and tugging her dress down with the other hand. He sat down on the spot next to her, accidentally brushing his knee against hers. If she noticed, she didn't back away. "Sorry about running off earlier. I needed to make sure Ethel was okay."

"No worries. How's she doing?"

"She's good. She's in the kitchen with Ronnie. They ordered pizza."

Her eyes started to droop on their own accord. The late-night studying was really taking its toll, and all she wanted to do all break is sleep. And maybe eat Christmas cookies.

"That's good. You know, if you're too tired, I can head out. I'm sure you get plenty of beauty rest." He threw another wink her way.

She patted his knee gently, not bothering to remove her hand afterward. "You're smooth Reggie, I'll give you that. But no, I think I can stay awake long enough to catch up with a friend."

"Yeah, I'd like that Betty." The warmth of her skin was already distracting him, even through his jeans. But he didn't dare say anything to stop her. "So, let me guess, you're majoring in Journalism?" He raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

"You know me too well, Reggie. Are you playing football here?"

"No, actually. I was offered a scholarship, but since my parents could afford to send me here, I figured I should get out before I have too many concussions." At least he had the option available to him.

"Sounds logical. Let me guess what you're majoring in... Business?" She predicted.

"History actually. I want to be a teacher."

She smiled. "I could see that."

She only then registered that her hands were tracing patterns on his knee. She found that she didn't want to stop, mesmerized by the animated story Reggie was telling her about how he wanted to follow his own passion instead of following in his father's footsteps. She felt drawn to him in a way she hadn't, with anyone, in a while. And every now and then he'd look at her with such an intensity that it nearly took her breath away.

They even discovered they were in the same Statistics class next semester, both preferring that choice over the calculus option to satisfy their math requirement.

They laughed and just caught each other up on their lives since graduation.

She was genuinely having a good time. And she found that she wasn't even tired anymore.

"Betty," Ethel interjected.

Betty pulled back and shook her head to clear her mind. She found herself becoming more enamored with Reggie, the more time she spent with him.

Reggie's hand stilled, having found her arm at some point during their conversation and was running his fingers up and down her delicate skin.

Betty turned around to find the source, her eyes landing on a very tired yet blissfully happy Ethel. She was a cute and happy drunk, just content to be with her friends.

"Can you take me home? Kevin is preoccupied with a guy from his Economics class."

Betty rolled her eyes at that. That was the one thing she asked of him, considering she decorated for the party all afternoon. But, he's been in kind of a funk lately, so she couldn't blame him too much.

She smiled warmly at her friend. "Yeah, sure. I'll order us a Swift." She turned back to Reggie, finding herself surprisingly disappointed that she would have to leave. "I'm just going to ride with her and make sure she gets home safe. I'll be back, if you'll still be here?" She raised an eyebrow.

A couple quick taps on her phone said their Swift would be there in approximately ten minutes.

He leaned back on the couch, spreading his arms across the back. _Play it cool_ , he thought. "Yeah, yes. I mean, probably – I'll probably still be here," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. He internally groaned over his fumbling. _Real smooth._

Betty placed a gentle hand on his arm and smiled. "I'm just going to use the restroom, and grab my coat from my bedroom," she directed at Ethel. "Meet me by the foyer?"

Ethel nodded and went off to locate her own coat in their hallway closet.

Betty excused herself to the restroom.

When she exited and turned towards her bedroom, she bumped into another broad shoulder for the second time that night. She and Reggie ran into each other - quite literally- in the hallway near the bathroom. Her hands landed on his shoulders and he gripped her waist to steady himself. Neither one of them moved from their embrace.

"You should really watch where you're going," she breathed out.

"We need to stop meeting like this, Cooper." He let out a light chuckle. Either he was really lucky to keep running into Betty, or the universe was taunting him with the unobtainable.

Just then, Veronica appeared in the hallway, intent on going to the restroom. Until she saw something much more interesting.

"Ooh, look who's under the mistletoe! You know what that means." She slightly stumbled as she took another step forward, extending her finger to point at the pair. "Betty and Reggie, K-i-s-s-i-n-g."

Betty rolled her eyes. Tipsy Veronica was even less inhibited than usual, and she had been trying to set Betty up for months. As much as they wanted to stay together, the long distance was too much for her and Trev and they broke up about a month into the semester. He was planning on going to school on the west coast next year, so it was only a matter of time anyways.

The gentle caress on her waist brought her back to the present.

The pair leaned back slightly. They looked up, seeing the mistletoe that Betty nearly forgot Veronica had hung (all throughout their apartment). She wasn't sure if she should be cursing or thanking Veronica in this moment. She knew Reggie's reputation of being a play boy, but that was not the impression she got from their conversation that night. In fact, he seemed more focused on schoolwork than she'd seen in his entire four years of high school combined.

His heart was racing, and he gripped Betty's waist a little tighter. He couldn't believe his luck of running into her under the mistletoe. He had the hugest crush on her all throughout high school. But between her childhood crush on Archie, her relationship with Jughead that crashed and burned, and then dating Trevor her senior year... He just never had the chance to ask her out. That didn't even address the fact that she was _way_ out of his league. He noticed the way she gripped his shoulders and her flushed cheeks, so maybe he had a shot after all.

Betty started to lean in, determined to capture his lips in a kiss.

"We don't have to," Reggie confessed.

"I know." She continued forward. She found herself wanting to kiss him, rather than being forced to. If she was being honest with herself, she had a little bit of a crush on him senior year. But she was dating Trev. She thought the crush fizzled out, but seeing him tonight, the exact opposite was true.

Her lips almost brushed his when he turned his cheek, planting a kiss near the corner of her mouth instead.

He brought his lips close to her ear, and spoke low, just above a whisper. "I don't want our first kiss to happen because we have to." His brought his thumb up to her cheek and brushed her skin. "I could really see myself falling for you."

She let out a shaky breath. "I bet you say that to all the girls."

He pulled back and brought his hand up to caress her cheek, looking lovingly into her eyes. He spoke quietly, so only she could hear. "I've never said that to another girl, because I've never meant it before. Just with you, Betty." He lowered his lips and placed a kiss to her cheek for the second time that night.

The phone in her hand buzzed, causing her to regrettably extract herself from his grip. She read over the message and her eyes went wide. "Shit! I need to go." She spun around quickly and ran off to her room to get her coat. She had her arm in one sleeve and was struggling with the other as she returned to Reggie, still a little dazed from their interaction.

"I need to go take Ethel home. But I'll see you when I get back." This time, it was more of a direction instead of a question, and he found himself nodding.

She placed a brief kiss to his cheek and rushed off to get Ethel before the Swift left without them.

"Well, well. That was an interesting development," Veronica said more towards herself than at Reggie.

He smirked. "I'm really glad I ran into you the other day, Ronnie." He smiled to himself and went to track down a beer to calm his nerves.

* * *

Betty returned to their apartment, and noticed that the party had died down substantially in the time it took her to make sure Ethel got home safe. She dropped off her coat in her room and started to look for Reggie.

She went through the kitchen, the living room, the office, then their formal living room… and nothing. She looped back to the kitchen to find Veronica.

"Hey V. Have you seen Reggie?" Betty leaned her elbows on the counter.

"B, I never thought I'd see the day where you and Reggie would be an item." Veronica tapped her fingernails on the counter.

"We're not-"

"Yes, I know, you're not _an item_ ," she said, making quotations with her fingers. "Not yet anyways. Make no mistake, I approve." She sent Betty a devilish smirk.

Betty let out a sigh. "So, have you seen him?"

Veronica pointed out towards their balcony. "He went outside right before you got home."

Betty pulled her best friend into a hug, before turning around and heading towards the balcony.

"I expect many double dates in our future," Veronica shouted after her.

Betty rolled her eyes and scooped up her cardigan from the back of the couch. She tugged it on and held it shut with one hand, not bothering to button it as she stepped onto the balcony.

The sound of her closing the sliding door alerted Reggie of her presence.

He took the last swig of his beer and turned to face her. "Hey mini Cooper." He smirked and took in the sight of her.

She laughed and took a few steps towards him. "Hey Reggie."

"Aren't you cold?" He pointed at her clothing, or lack thereof. She had on a thin cardigan and her legs were bare past the very short length of her dress.

She walked the rest of the way towards him on the balcony, stopping right in front of him. She plucked the beer bottle out of his hand and set it on the ledge. She placed a tentative hand on his chest. "You see, I know this guy. He puts up this tough exterior, and truthfully, I used to think he was a jerk, sometimes… but secretly he has a heart of gold. I figured he might offer to keep a girl warm," she suggested.

He brought his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against his chest. "Yeah, I think I know that guy. He had a huge crush on you all throughout high school," he said sincerely.

Betty's eyes went wide before softening her expression into a tender smile. "You did not."

He brought his hands over her arms, rubbing them up and down to generate some heat for her. "Yeah, I did. And I never thought a girl like you would give me the time of day. You're out of my league," he said solemnly.

She brought her hands to circle around his neck and inched herself closer. "Well if you remember anything about me, you know I don't like people making decisions for me."

He nodded. "Trust me, I remember. The next move is yours, Betty."

Betty looked up at him through her lashes, thankful for the first time that night that she was wearing heels. All she had to do was tilt up slightly to capture his lips in a kiss. Her eyes flitted from his eyes to his lips, and back up again.

The kindness and sincerity in his eyes is what made her decision for her. She smiled slyly and leaned in to press a kiss firmly on his lips. He smiled into the kiss and thought how perfectly their lips fit together and how right he felt when he was with her. She threaded her fingers through his hair and swiped her tongue across his bottom lip asking for access. He granted it and pulled her tighter, his hands splaying across her back. She hummed happily into the kiss, only pulling away once their kiss left her breathless.

He rested his forehead against hers and brought his hand up to caress her cheek. "Wow," he whispered against her lips.

She smiled brightly. "Yeah," she agreed.

"So, what now?"

Her hands played with the hair at the nape of his neck, his eyes closing at the sensation. "Pick me up at seven tomorrow?"

He smiled and reconnected their lips in a sweet kiss. "Now that, I can arrange."

She smiled into the kiss. "It's a date."


End file.
